House M.D. stuffs
Dear House: All I have to say is...thank you.
Here's a new chapter for anyone who isn't watching Tyrant twelve times tonight.
Title: Delicate
Chapter: Breathe Me (eight)
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Blah blah blah. I can only be witty and humorous for so long.
Summary: House is changed in a way that no one could have seen coming, and Wilson is left to pick up and take care of what's remaining. Can he handle it?
Warnings: sick!vulnerable!House, House/Wilson slash.
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6 & 7
Cameron and Chase were standing in Wilson’s living room in their summer clothes, waiting for House. House was currently in his bed, arguing with Wilson who was half ready to leave the apartment without his argumentative friend. “House, come on. It’ll be fun!” He was holding out a pair of shorts and trying to entice House. “I promise you’ll enjoy yourself!”
“No.” House pulled the comforter over his head, making Wilson groan.
“What. Is. Your. Issue?”
“What if they see my leg?” he asked the room in general.
At this, Cameron - who could hear the entire exchange from her spot by the couch - turned to look sadly at Chase.
“House, no one will see your scar. See how long my swimming trunks are? Yours are just as long. No one will see it - honestly.”
“Really?” House stuck his head hopefully out from under the comforter, looking from Wilson to the shorts.
“Really,” Wilson breathed a sigh of relief. “Now get out of the damn bed and get ready. We’re leaving in five minutes. You’ve already kept Cameron and Chase waiting 20 minutes.”
“They’re coming, too?” House asked, climbing out of his bed.
“Yes! I already told you that.”
“No. You didn’t.” House pulled off his pyjamas and took the shorts from Wilson, using his dresser for support as he tugged them on.
“Whatever. You’re so stubborn sometimes. Get a t-shirt on and then come out.”
“Okay.”
Cameron and Chase smiled at Wilson as he made his way down the hallway. “Thanks for waiting,” he said, opening the front closet and pulling out two pairs of sandals - one much larger than the other.
“No problem,” Chase said, his arm wrapped around Cameron’s shoulders. The noise of House working his way down the hall immediately caught everyone’s attention and they all turned to look at him.
He was stumbling along, using the wall to support himself. “I can’t find my cane,” he implored Wilson.
“Last time I saw it,” Wilson provided, looking into a bag that he was packing, “it was in my room.”
“Thanks.” House turned around and made his way to Wilson’s room before Cameron rounded on Wilson.
“What’s his cane doing in your room?”
“Well, he uses it to walk, see, so when he walked into my room, he brought it with him.”
“Let me rephrase,” she spoke through tight lips and gritted teeth, “what was House doing in your room?”
“He had a nightmare,” Wilson explained, “and when he has nightmares, he sleeps in my room.”
“With you?” she demanded.
“No,” Chase turned to her, “Wilson goes and sleeps in House’s bed. It’s actually the room that makes the difference.”
“Hey!” Cameron turned and smacked Chase’s arm. “I’m just worried about House.”
“You don’t honestly think I would harm him, do you? I lo - He’s my best friend.”
“Who’s your best friend?” House inquired from behind Wilson, startling him - but years of being the man’s friend had paid off and Wilson quickly recovered.
“You are, buddy.”
“You’re my best friend too. Are we going now?”
“Yes,” Chase answered as Cameron held out a hand for House to take. “Come on, man, you’re gonna love the beach.” They let House pick the music on the way there, which resulted in everyone suffering through loud rock and roll. Halfway there, Wilson asked if House would mind letting Cameron pick a few songs, and their ears were assuaged for a short time.
By the time they got to the beach, House was starving, so Chase took him to get some food while Wilson and Cameron unloaded the car. “I’m sorry for...assuming the worst about you,” Cameron said to Wilson, slinging a bag over her shoulder.
“I forgive you,” he tugged the cooler out of the trunk.
“It’s just...I still sort of have feelings for House. And seeing him like this...sometimes I wish I was the one caring for him.”She looked as though this confession had cost her a lot - she knew how hurt Wilson must be that she wanted to take House away from him. Yet somewhere in her expression, Wilson saw relief. She was glad to finally get this guilty thought off of her chest.
He wasn’t sure how to respond to her admission, so he smiled nervously. “I’m not sure Chase would like that very much.”
“Oh, he likes House fine now.” Their feet were smacking on the wooden boardwalk as they made their way from the parking lot to the beach, gear hanging off of them.
“Does he know how you feel about him?” They reached the sand and Wilson started scanning the beach for a place where they could settle themselves. “Still?”
“No,” she admitted.
“Well, his feelings on the matter might be a little different if you supplied him with all the relevant information.”
“Maybe,” she replied, “but I like to think Chase would trust me enough -“
“It’s never about not trusting your partner,” he cut her off, “it’s about not trusting their emotions.” They were just dropping their stuff on the ground when House and Chase found them. How House always managed to get sauce (ketchup, this time) on his nose was a mystery to Wilson. “Come here a sec.” He waved House over and wiped the offending condiment off with his thumb.
“Hey House!” Cameron caught the man’s attention before he could thank Wilson for cleaning him up. “Why don’t we make a sand castle?”
“Sure,” he turned away from Wilson, following her as she walked closer to the shore. Taking his awkward time on the sand, House eventually made it to where Cameron was waiting with a shovel in one hand and bucket in the other. She helped him plop down on the sand, and when Chase was sure they wouldn’t be able to hear him, he turned to Wilson.
“I think she still has feelings for him.”
Wilson blanched and swallowed thickly, trying to maintain a passive face. “What makes you say that?”
“The way she’s always touching him. How the smallest statement about him can completely set her off. The way she talks about him at home.”
“Well...I don’t think you really need to worry about it right now.” Wilson tried to console Chase without making eye contact.
“Why not?”
“Because, there’s no way that House is reciprocating any type of love - other than platonic - in the state he’s in. He has a young mind. Maybe he still has the physical capability to have sex, but he doesn’t understand any of that anymore.” Wilson sighed and looked at Chase, who’s eyes were wide, his mouth open a little as he listened. “There’s no way they’ll sleep together.”
“I think I knew that. It’s just so frustrating. When you get married, you expect your wife to love you. Not her mentally handicapped ex-boss.”
“Yeah.” Was House going to destroy someone else’s marriage, this time?
“Chase! Jimmy!” House’s excited cry broke through the silence that had wedged between the two men. “Look at what me and Cameron made!”
“Cameron and I, House. Nice castle,” Wilson said, getting up to walk towards the pair. A quarter of the way there, though, he turned to look at Chase who was still sitting on the towel. “Maybe you should talk to Cameron about your concerns. It might help, you never know until you try.”
Chased nodded and watched Wilson walk away.
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